July Commission - Black dress with cardigan

A black dress with white cardigan for the same doll. 

This dress was a big challenge as there was rarely much photos of the inner black dress to be found.

(Picture taken from: http://www.goodfon.com/wallpaper/503299.html)

Thankfully I had friends who watched this anime and is able to help me find some photos for this dress. This dress was seen on Sword art online CD.

Let's move onto the work in progress~

I did some prototype test on the top collar as the collar is slightly wavy. The one on the left was close to the shape that I wanted but not quite... the one on the right has the potential to create the folds of the collar. Hence, I've combined the two technique and did some adjustments. Did I mention that it's my first time doing so? *facepalm*

The skirt was hand sewn once. This is to make sure that I get even folds for the skirt. Next, I combined the top and bottom together.

The finished black dress

The back of the dress.

Picking the right lace is important. As I do not have the exact pattern from the anime picture, I picked a more or less close one to it. (I had the permission to do so from the owner)

It was either circle lace or flower lace. Out of the laces that I bought, I've shortlisted 3. Usually I would place the lace against that cloth that I'm using, that helps me to make my selection easier. If you want more contrast, you choose a more white lace. Otherwise, pick the lace in which the colour is close to the cloth.

 

Let the doll wear the cardigan and pin the length you want. 

The last step was to hand sewn each lace to the white top. Then I cut off the remaining parts that I do not want. Just something to share: before you alter/cut the lace and sew onto the top, make sure you check if the lace will fall apart when you cut them. The safest way is always to cut one out and test. That way, you won't waste effort in sewing, cutting and wasting your lace.

Thank you for reading!